Blood of War
by PleadInsanity
Summary: After a tragic accident, Bella's life changes much sooner than she expected. When Edward does what he must to save her, Jacob and the other werewolves declare war on the vampires. Who will win, and who will die? PostNew Moon, preEclipse.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is my first Twilight fanfic, so please be kind in your reviews. This story takes place post-_New Moon_, but pre-_Eclipse_. I wasn't too happy with how _Eclipse_ played out, so for the sake of this story, we're going to pretend it doesn't exist. I do not claim ownership to any of these characters. They belong exclusively to Mrs. Stephanie Meyer, the most amazing writer ever.**

It had been a long Friday. And far too sunny. That meant no Edward. Hence the long day. Classes dragged by as they always did when Edward was confined by the sun. When I came home, I did some laundry and cooked some of the fish we had in the freezer for Charlie to pass the time. I finished the little homework I had, laid down on my bed, and put my headphones on. The soft sound of Debussy lulled me into a light sleep.

I don't know how long I had been laying there before I felt a snow-cold hand brush against my cheek. The corners of my mouth spread across my face in a grin before my eyes fluttered open to meet his golden gaze. I took off my headphones and tossed them on my nightstand before snuggling up to Edward's stone cold body. He enveloped me in his arms and pulled me closer.

"I missed you today," he said in his velvet soft voice. His lips ruffled my hair when he kissed the top of my head.

"Oh really? I hardly noticed you were gone," I replied jokingly. His chest vibrated against my ear as he chuckled. I sighed happily and rested my head on his shoulder.

"So, how was your day?" he asked.

"Uneventful. And long." I hugged him closer. "You?"

"I've been thinking about some things." I couldn't read his expression, but I still got a knot in my stomach. Last time he did some serious thinking….I refused to let myself think of it. It still hurt to remember those moments before he—I stopped myself. "Are you working tomorrow?" he asked, drawing me from my thoughts.

"No," I answered cautiously. I wasn't sure if I liked where this was going. "Why, what did you have planned?"

"Well, you've been cooped up in here for far too long. Normally, I would agree with Charlie," he eyed me, remembering the motorcycle that had been the root of my imprisonment. "But you need some fresh air. I thought we could go…'hiking'." He chuckled to himself at his little joke. We wouldn't be hiking. I knew we would be moving much too fast for it to be considered hiking. I relaxed a little. It couldn't be anything bad if he were laughing. It was then I realized I had been holding my breath. Edward heard when I released my breath.

"What's wrong?" He gazed at me with beautiful, worried eyes. I smiled to convince him nothing was wrong, but it was weak and transparent. His face flickered with pain and remorse as he seemed to realize what I was thinking. He pulled me impossibly closer and pressed his stone lips to my forehead.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't mean…It's supposed to be sunny again tomorrow." He attempted a brighter tone. "I thought we could go to the meadow." He donned his crooked smile I loved and it melted my troubled thoughts to a fuzzy mush. I couldn't help but stare and smile at him like an idiot. I knew I'd never get used to how beautiful he was.

He lightly brushed my cheek with his ice-cold fingertips, leaving a streak of fire, before lowering his head to meet my lips with his. He kissed me deep enough to provoke a near inaudible moan. But of course, Edward heard it. His lips parted as he smiled. "I love you," he breathed. The scent of him made me dizzy.

We spent the rest of the night wrapped in each other's arms. The next morning, he told me he would return in an hour before he pecked me on the lips and ducked out my window. I took a nice hot shower and changed into a comfortable pair of jeans and a navy blue scoop neck t-shirt.

I skipped down the stairs for a bowl of cereal and found Charlie in the kitchen. "Hey, dad. Going fishing again?"

"No. I'm going to Billy's. There's a game on today." I froze, thinking of Jacob. I still hadn't heard from him. He hadn't returned any of my calls. I had even resorted to passing notes through Charlie, and still nothing. Charlie noticed I had gone silent. "Have a note for me to give him?" He couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"What's the point?" I bit back bitterly, ignoring the apparent humor he seemed to find in this situation. "Tell him whatever you want. I don't care." I turned to go back up the stairs, having lost my appetite, when Charlie stopped me. I guess he finally noticed I was dressed on a Saturday.

"Have any plans today?" he asked skeptically. "You know you're still grounding. No leaving this house."

"I know, dad. Edward's just coming over to help me fill out some college applications." He couldn't object to this harmless activity. He's been hounding me to do this since he grounded me. And besides, it wasn't a complete lie. I'm sure Edward would have some applications for me to fill out when we got back from the meadow. At the mention of Edward's name, I thought I saw Charlie's eye twitch.

"Fine," he said reluctantly. "But no leaving the house!" I nodded, not sure if I could convince him I wouldn't be leaving the house, and headed back up the stairs to wait for Edward. As soon Charlie's car pulled away, I heard the purr of Edward's Volvo. I turned to go down the stairs, and Edward was there in my doorway. He walked over to me, so fast I hardly saw it. His arms wrapped around my waist in a cold embrace. His lips skimmed my jaw from my chin to my ear.

"Ready to go?" The cool breath of his whisper tickled my ear and I shivered. He took this as a yes, took me by the hand, and led me to his car.

The drive was quick, as always. I'm still amazed we haven't wrecked yet. He drives like a maniac. We got out of the car and Edward hoisted me on his back and took off running. His running used to terrify me more than his driving, but now I found it comforting. To be moving with him as one was a feeling that surpassed everything else. I laid my head on his shoulder and matched my breathing with his. I took in the scent of his bronze hair and pale skin and knew than heaven could not possibly be better than this.

Before I knew it, we were at the meadow. I wouldn't have realized it if it hadn't been for Edward gently pulling me around into his arms before placing my feet on the ground. We both lay down in the soft grass and looked up to the sky. The morning clouds were almost gone, allowing the sun to break through. As the sun kissed Edward's skin, it shimmered and specks of it glittered in his golden eyes. I curled up next to his side and he wrapped his arms around me. My head rested on his chest and it rose and fell with his breathing. We laid there for hours, it seemed. We didn't say much, but we didn't need to. We just held each other.

"My offer still stands, you know." Edward's voice broke through my half-asleep state.

"Hmm?" I opened my eyes sleepily and looked into his eager topaz ones. He brushed a lock of hair from my eyes.

"I want you to be my wife, Bella." I released myself from his embrace and sat up. He sat up behind me and placed his hand on my back. "Bella…"

"Edward, you know how I feel about this. I don't…" I sighed, at a loss for words. I didn't know what else to say. I didn't want to get married so young. That was my mother's mistake. It would not be mine. But…why was I so unwilling to get married, but so ready to completely change my life forever by becoming a vampire?

"Bella, I want to be with you forever." I turned to him and buried my face in his chest.

"I want to be with you, too. It's just—"

"Shh…" I looked up at him. His eyes were focused on the surrounding trees. Just then, I heard a rustling noise. I gripped tighter to Edward as the rustling became louder.

"Edward…" A dark shape emerged from the trees, a monstrous wolf standing as tall as a bear. It was quivering, it's powerful jaws clenched in a grimace, bearing sharp white teeth. It had reddish-brown fur. "Jacob? What are you—" Before I could finish speaking, Jacob leaped forward. Edward pushed me out of the way and I stumbled to the ground. I turned and looked toward them. Jacob was on top of Edward, barking and growling furiously. "Jacob! Stop it!" Edward through him off, and he went flying across the meadow and into the trees. Edward turned toward me.

"Bella! Get out of here!"

"No! Not without you!"

"Bella, you must go now! It isn't safe. Jacob isn't himself right now. You could get hurt. Go!" Jacob returned and tackled Edward from behind. I screamed. Thinking of what either of them could do to each other, I acted irrationally and ran toward them. I grabbed Jacob's arm and tried to pull him away, but he wouldn't budge. I began beating him furiously on his back, but I'm sure he hardly felt it. My hands started to ache as if I had been beating a rock.

"Jacob! Stop it right now! Stop it, Jacob! Get off of him!" Edward was still yelling for me to go, and Jacob was still growling. The noise began to hurt my ears. Tears blurred my eyes restricting my vision, so I hardly saw the huge clawed paw fly at me. I felt a sharp burning pain rip through the whole front of my body before I went flying through the air. I hit something rough and hard. I could only assume it was a tree. My eyes were closed now, and I couldn't tell if I was lying on the ground or not. I felt dizzy, like I was spinning.

"BELLA!!" It was Edward. Almost as soon as I heard him, the gurgling sound of Jacob's snarls stopped and I heard a loud thump and felt the ground shake. A cold hand suddenly brushed against my forehead. I struggled to open my eyes at his touch.

"Edward?"

"Bella!" It was Jacob this time. "Bella, I'm so sorry! Bella?" Edward's hand disappeared from my face.

"Get away from her!" I managed to look over at them, though my vision was beginning to fade. I was looking through a haze, as if I were trapped in a dream. I thought I saw Edward pull back his fist and hit Jacob across the face, but Jacob did not retaliate. I tried to tell Edward to stop, but I couldn't find my voice. Edward shoved Jacob, now with a tear-stained face, away, yelling at him the whole time. "Look what you've done! Get out of here. And stay away from her!" Jacob transformed into his wolf form and took off running into the trees. Edward was back at my side at once, but I was already slipping. The darkness was drowning me. I could just barely here Edward's pleas for me to stay awake, to stay with him. I tried to hold on, but the darkness was too strong. I felt one last breath pass through me and then, I was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: First of all, thank you all for the positive feedback! You don't know how much that meant to me. Secondly, I apologize for the long wait for chapter 2. I've been so busy with school and work. And when I'm not doing either of those, I'm too exhausted to do anything else. But, here it is. Chapter 2. I hope you enjoy it! Please read and review:)**

"Edward, you know this is the only option."

"I know, but…I didn't want it to happen this way." His voice was sad. I recognized the voices as those of Carlisle and Edward. I was beginning to surface. Awareness was coming back to me. And pain. My chest was aching and throbbing. I felt a pressure against my chest. I tried to open her eyes to see what it was, but I couldn't command them to open. I couldn't command my voice or any movement of my body either. Everything felt cold.

"She's lost too much blood. There's no time to take her to the hospital and I don't have any blood here to do a transfusion. And every second we wait, she gets closer and closer to—to death." He paused. "Edward, I know you were always against her becoming one of us, but she has no more future. It's either this, or…" His voice trailed. Silence followed. I knew Edward was hesitating. And I knew I didn't have much time. It took every fiber of will I had left to speak.

"Edward…" My voice was hardly a whisper, but he heard it. His hand was instantly on my forehead. My eyes strained to open so I could see his face. His deep gold eyes were pained, but slightly relieved. There was a deep crease chiseled in the perfect marble skin of his forehead. "Bella. Oh, God! Bella…" I weakly shook my head to quiet him.

"Edward, I want you to do it."

"Bella, are you sure…"

"Yes. I want to be with you. This is the only way. Please."

"It's going to hurt. More than you hurt right now. More than you can imagine."

"I don't care. It will be worth it. Please…" My vision was fading again. I could feel the darkness coming again. I knew I would not come back from this one if I fell under. I felt Edward's hand squeeze around mine. He lowered his lips to my ear.

"I love you, Bella." His voice was just a whisper. He lowered his lips further to my neck and, after hesitating for a brief second, bit down. I yelped in pain, but it was nothing compared to the agony that soon followed. Fire spread slowly from my neck, over my shoulders, down my arms, across my chest, through my legs, all the way to my toes. Screams ripped through my throat and my body writhed violently. Edward never let go of my hand. The pain was so intense, I felt like I would pass out. But the darkness wouldn't come this time. I felt every fiber of my body burn.

* * *

I thought the pain would never end. But what seemed like a lifetime later, a numbness began to replace the fire. The pulse that had been throbbing in my ears slowed until it finally stopped. I opened my eyes slowly. I was in Edward's room lying in a bed I didn't recognize. When did he get a bed? 

I rolled out of the bed, more gracefully than I had expected, and went to the window that looked out toward the Sol Duc River. Though the sky was shrouded with a blanket of thick gray clouds, I knew it was almost sun down. It was like I could sense the sun and tell where it was in the sky without actually seeing it. I looked down at my hands, now smooth and cold. And paler than before.

A scent, the sweetest I had ever smelled, wafted to my nose. I recognized it, yet somehow it was new to me. I followed the intoxicating fragrance to a dark corner of the room. A figure emerged. Edward. I thought he smelled amazing before. But now…

Holy crow.

"Edward." My voice sounded the same. I found comfort in this somehow. I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest, inhaling his pure, sweet scent. "It's over now. The pain, the fire is gone. We can be together now. Forever." His arms enveloped me and he kissed the top of my head.

"It's not over yet, my love." I looked up into his dark eyes with my confused ones. His eyes were a hard onyx and, in a sudden revelation, I realized what he had meant. I knew what color my eyes were now. Dark ruby red. I looked away, not wanting him to see them that way. Detaching myself from him, I walked back to the window. "We need to go soon."

"Go where?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Hunting." His voice seemed apologetic. At the idea of the word, a strong urge I had never felt before exploded inside of me. When I realized what is was I was craving, I cringed inwardly. The thought of consuming something I found so vile collided with the undeniable urge I had to rip into the nearest living thing I could get my hands on. I couldn't give in to the bloodlust. I couldn't! But I wanted it so badly…

I began beating my head with the palms of my hands, trying to rid my brain of the vile thoughts. I could sense something inside of me. Something strange, unfamiliar, and wrong. It was like a bear waking from a long hibernation. And with an empty belly, it growls with a frustrated hunger that only the taste of something fresh and alive could satiate. I could feel this beast inside of me awaken and it began to take over me. The part of me that refused to give in was weakening. I didn't know how much longer I could hold off the beast. I felt Edward's hands cup under each side of my jaw and lift my eyes to his.

"I know what you're going through, what's happening inside of you. But you will get through it. I promise you. But right now, we need to get you fed. Come. We must leave now. If you don't feed soon, you could end up doing something you will later regret. And believe me, you don't want something like that on your conscience." He paused and looked away, as if remembering a moment from the past. "Carlisle will come with us."

"And Alice?" I asked, hopefully.

"And Alice." He gave me a warm smile before pressing his lips to my forehead.


End file.
